#91- Lost and Found

It was one of those moments that was full of what I would like to dub the Sad Clown Phenomenon. I had had an amazing day, going out for lunch, a trip to the museum, and now a $2 dollar comedy with my girlfriend and had all the reason in the world to be loving life. And yet I was very, very sad. That's because, in my sheer stupidity, I had left my beloved J-school hoodie somewhere in the mall and was convinced that I would never see it again.

I managed to forget about it and enjoy the movie, but was still sad enough to refuse candy from my girlfriend, a sure sign that the Sad Clown Phenomenon hadn't totally relinquished its grip. After the movie, however, I started to slip back into it until my girlfriend, a true optimist in her perseverance and determination, told me I should look in the mall's lost and found.

I, being full of Sad Clown, still despaired. Of course it wouldn't be there, no one would have turned in my sweater, it was probably being eaten by a pack of Ottawa's infamous hungry groundhogs by now.

Long story short, it was there and I had my sweater back and wore it, draw strings pulled tight for added security, all the way home in the summer heat.

And today I am forever indebted to Lost and Found boxes everywhere.

They are themselves a great thing, a chance to reclaim lost objects of significance and trivial appeal alike. But they are much more than that. They are a symbol of hope, a last bastion of promise and optimism that relief will come; that you will find what is important to you.

It is also an assurance that humans are indeed inherently good creatures. Lost and Founds are a sign that people will do the right thing and want, deep in their hearts and minds, for people to be happy even if they don't know that person and will get nothing, not even a thank you or a look of joy, in return for their good deed.

So I am grateful for the Lost and Found. I am grateful that they are always there, like a network of kindness and hope and human decency and selflessness, when you need it most. And I am grateful that it helped remind me that these things exist in the world and rose me up and out of the pessimism I had given into and back to seeing life like a glass half full.

#90- Dandelions

A couple weeks ago I was walking along the Rideau Canal and to keep my eyes and mind off what was potentially floating belly up in the water a few metres from me I set my eyes upon the thousands of dandelions that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Let me tell you, it was a beautiful sight.

Yes, dandelions are weeds, but they are not the putrid green, hand pricking, soul-sucking weeds that seem to ruin your every attempt to grow a small backyard herb garden, but nice yellow sprouts lining the various paths you walk on to work or school or a Sunday evening jaunt.

Sure they have their downsides, just ask people with allergies. But at least they are nice to look at, even if you have to take your eyes off of them for a few seconds to sneeze.

To borrow a quote about another, more loved plant: "You can complain because roses have thorns or rejoice because thorns have roses."

In other words, focus more on the positives of dandelions, the beauty, the good luck they bring when you blow their seeds into the wind, etc., rather than the negatives because as much as you try, they are always going to be around.

So I am grateful for dandelions. I am grateful for the splash of amazing colour they bring to any landscape. I am grateful they defy the normal perception of a weed as awful and harsh. And I am grateful that they stand as testament to a very important lesson I have learned in my life; focus on the good in everything rather than dwelling on any of the negatives that are bound to pop up and it'll brighten your day even when it's cloudy out.